Drier



Jam 27, 1953 F. B. PFEIFFER DRIER Filed June 5, 1947 INI/EN TOR. F5517 .5 'FFE/F1525 Bam 27, 1953 F. B. PFEIFFER 2,626,519

DRIER Filed June 5, 1947 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 IN VEN TOR. mm? Pfiff/#5f Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRIER Fred alfeiffer; Akron, .Ohio

Application `.l`une`3,` 1947, Serial No. '75.2,`0. f8L

(Cl. 68.-2.42:) i

My invention relates toV improvements inmachinery for extracting water from washed clothes, as for example, but without limitation, a family wash.

An object of the present invention is to provide means for drying clothes of afamily Wash by confining the wet clothes in a substantially air-tight compartment and then withdrawing the water and air from such compartment by vacuum means.

Another object yof the present invention is to provide a thin flexible diaphragm of rubber, or other similar flexible material, placed in such position` relative to the clothes to be dried that when the; compartment which theclothes occupy is subjected to vacuum, thediierential fiuid pres,-v sure on opposite sides of said diaphragm will causethe diaphragm to press against and about the said clothes, thus physically squeezing the water out of the clothes.

A further object of the` present invention is to promote the drying of the clothes by subjecting them vto reduced atmosphericpressure while the water they contain is still hot.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a clothes drier that willnot injure but.- tons or delicate fabrics` A still further object ofthe present invention, is to provide means for drying the clothes of a family wash which means does. not involve the.-

usual clothes wringers andlto protect housewives from the dangers attendant tooperating roll type Wringers.

Another object of the invention is to provide convenient, economical means for drying a family wash which is faster than by. the use of convene tional roller type wringers.

Another object of the invention. is to provide a drier for a family wash whic-h may be operated by means of a motor driven pump or by a manually operated pump if electricity fora motor isl not available.

Other advantages and objects will'be apparent to, those skilled in the art, from the description in the specification and 4by reference to the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View of a drier embodying the present invention, and showing the drier` as it would appear when charged with `Wet clothes to be dried, and with its flexible diaphragm in position;

Fig. 2 is substantially the same as Fig. 1 butv illustrating the relative positions of the clothes and diaphragm shown in Fig. 1 as they would` appear after the drying operationand before the diaphragm has-been removed; and

Fig. 3 is a topvplan view of the drier with the diaphragmand clothes removed and a portion of the screen broken away.

Referringl now to the-drawings in detail and'to Fig. lin particular it will bevseen that a drier embodying the present invention and referred to in general as I0, comprises a body portion I Isupported on legs I2, aV diaphragm cover I3, a loose screen |41- in the bottom of themain body portion, a pump referred to generally as I5, an adjustable pump handlel 6, an outlet pipeY Il, discharge hose I8, andl other members identified hereinafter. Screen I4has a raised dome-like central portion asshownin the drawing whereby the clothesI being dried are` preventedv from bunching in thecenter'of said bodyfportion.

The body'portion shown in Fig. l is round in thefashion of a round dish pan andY has turnedover edges I9 for strength andto receive a beaded edge 2i! of the diaphragm I3. bottom ofthe` body Il is in the form of a sump or a water collecting cavity 22. The side walls 9 of the sump 22 are annular having a reduced or neck portion 23 at the top portion thereof. Thisneck portion is adapted to receive-a beaded edge portion of a diaphragm 2d of pump I5; It is` to be noted that the bottom portion` 25' of the bodyA I I slopes: toA the sump 22. Whilethe` body IVI is shown as having thegeneral form of around dish pan, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not t'obe limited to such shape, asfobviously various shapes Vof` compartments could be used.

At the top of the neck 23 a ledge portion Zis formedY to providev a seat for a perforated plate 21. This plate has a sufiicient number of perforations 28- to permit water-to flow freely into the It is to be understood that the Said dome'portion of screen Iwill support the clothes sump 22.

independent of plate 2 l.

The bottom wall 35 of sump 22 is flat andv through its central portion isa plurality-'of per-- forations 29 and acentral bolt hole 30 to-receiveK abolt 3l having a head 32 and a threaded end The bolt extends through the bottom 35 andi through'a` central hole, not shown, in flap 34, with thesbolt head'32' resting on the upper surface'of bottom 35 and the nut 33 tightened onl the said" iap, whereby the flat surface of said flap is nor-v mally heldagainst the under side of' bottom 35 and over perforations 29, thus formingy a pump4 valve vas `vv'ill later be explained.

The--daphra'gmZll` is composed offthin rubber..

The center of theor other thin flexible material and is funnel shape. By reference to Fig. l it will be seen that this diaphragm 24 is tapered, the edges of the large end terminating in a bead 36 and near the edge of the small end is formed bead 31. The large bead 36 ts snugly in the neck 23 and is clamped therein by a hose clamp 38.

Pivotally mounted on one of the legs I2 by means of a pivot pin 39 extending from said leg, a collar 40, and a set screw 4I is the outlet pipe I1 combined with the handle I6. The pump handle end portion of pipe I1 has an upwardly and downwardly turned portion 42 and 43 respectively with aligned holes therethrough. The top of portion 42 is closed except for a relatively small hole 44 over which hole a ball 45 is held by a spring 46 seated on a plug 41 threaded in the bottom portion 43 'of said pipe I1, thus forming a ball check valve assembly. The upper end of portion 42 is formed with an annular groove 48 which receive the bead 31 of diaphragm 24. A hose clamp 49 clamps said bead 31 in fluid tight relation with said portion 42. A discharge hose I8 is attached to the outlet end of pipe I1 in any satisfactory manner as by a conventional hose connection I.

The diaphragms I3 and 24 may be made in any manner found satisfactory as by molding on a core or by molding in a mold with internal uid pressure, or from sheeted rubber or the like. The bead portions may be made separately from the Wall of the diaphragm and cemented, or vulcanized to the walls, or by other expedients which may occur to those familiar With the art. The wall of the diaphragm I3 is preferably of thin rubber such as dental dam, While the wall of diaphragm 24 is of high grade rubber of substantial thickness since it is subjected to repeated iiexing and must resist some pressure.

After washing, the Wet clothes, referred to as 52, are transferred directly from the washing machine into the drier body II. Next the elastic bead 20 composed of rubber which is of less length than the circumference of said body is snapped over the turned edges I9 of the body II. The water and air is now removed from the clothes by the pump I5. The pumping action is performed by the operator grasping handle I6 and sliding it outwardly on a center rod 53 on which itis slidably mounted, the out position being shown in broken lines in Fig. 1. The handle is pumped up and down (see Fig. 2). At the beginning the excess water from the wet clothes will run down through the screen I4 over the bottom 25, through the perforations 28 of the plate 21 into the sump 22. It is to be noted that the screen I4 permits the water to flow along the bottom 35 and prevents the clothes from blocking such flow. The rst upward stroke of handle I6 expels the air from diaphragm 24 the ball 45 being forced away from its seat by the force of the air being compressed by said upward stroke. Next the downward stroke of handle I6 tends to create a vacuum in diaphragm 24 which draws the edge portion of rubber flap 34 away from its seat against the bottom side of wall 35 thus exposing perforations 29 and drawing water out of the sump 22 (see Fig. 2). Next the handle is again raised which permits the return of and forces the fiap 34 again against its seat on wall 35 and expels the water which has passed from sump 22 into diaphragm 24 out through hole 44 into outlet pipe I1 and hose I8. As will be understood by those familiar with the art as the pumping action continues both Water and air will be drawn out of the body II. It being understood of course that the diaphragm I3 does not permit air to pass therethrough and that its beads are in uid tight relation with the sides of the body II. As the water becomes exhausted from the body II a partial vacuum is created therein and the hot water in the clothes boils and passes out to some extent as vapor. At any rate the differential of fluid pressure on the upper and lower side of the diaphragm I3 presses the thin rubber thereof tightly down against and around the wet clothes further squeezing all excess water therefrom.

It has been found that only a few strokes of handle I6 is necessary to dry clothes sufficiently for them to be hung upon a clothes line without dripping water. After drying the clothes, diaphragm I3 is removed and the clothes taken out of the drier and hung upon a clothes line, or otherwise handled according to the operators desire.

While the present invention has been illustrated in connection with but one embodiment thereof, it is obvious that modifications will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention therefore is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and the prior art.

What is claimed is:

l. A clothes drier comprising a body portion adapted to receive wet clothes to be dried, a exible diaphragm impervious to air or steam, the upper marginal edges of said body portion having continuous turned-over edges, said diaphragm terminating at its edge portion in an elastic bead composed of rubber which bead is of shorter length than the length of said turnedover edge, said bead being adapted to snap over said turned-edge thereby providingI a fluid tight cover over said body portion, a drainage sump formed in the bottom of said body portion and the bottom of said body portion sloping toward said sump, a screen overlying said bottom, said screen having a raised dome shape center portion, a perforated plate concave on its upper surface covering the opening into said sump, said sump having a reduced neck portion adjacent its upper portion and at least one outlet hole through its bottom portion, supporting means for said body portion, an outlet pipe pivotally mounted on said supporting means, said pipe extending under said body and having a communicating check valve mounted on its inner end portion, a flexible pump diaphragm of frusto-conical shape when extended and extending between and connecting said sump and said check valve, said pump diaphragm being in uid tight attachment to said sump and check valve, said outlet pipe having an extended portion on its end opposite its pivotal attachment, a pump handle slidably attached to said outlet pipe on said extended portion, and a flap attached to the underside of the bottom of said sump and with said bottom forming a check valve, said last mentioned check valve being of such size and so located that when closed it covers said opening through the bottom of said sump whereby water and vapor may be pumped from said body portion 2. A clothes drier comprising a body portion adapted to receive wet clothes to be dried, a flexible diaphragm impervious to air or steam, said diaphragm terminating at its edge portion in an elastic bead which bead is of shorter length than the length of the upper marginal edge of said 5 body portion, said bead being adapted to snap over said marginal edge thereby providing a fluid tig-ht cover over said body portion, a drain sump formed in the bottom of said body portion, said bottom having an opening therethrough communicating With said sump, a screen having a raised convexed center portion overlying said plate, said sump having a reduced neck portion at its upper end and a valved opening at its lower end, a flexible pump diaphragm of tubular shape when extended and having one end in fluid tight engagement with said neck portion, and a tubular means pivoted to the bottom of said body portion and secured to the other end of said pump diaphragm to operate said pump diaphragm to pump Water 15 and vapor from the body portion to said drain sump whereby water and vapor may be pumped from said body portion.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 154,149 Paget Aug. 18, 1874 744,295 Colthar Nov. 17, 1903 1,671,913 Troy May 29, 1928 1,985,485 Crane Dec. 25, 1934 1,993,201 Yandell Mar. 5, 1935 2,368,091 Andersen Jan. 30, 1945 2,453,707 Graham Nov. 16, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 107,825 Germany Dec. 11, 1899 116,108 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1926 319,352 Great Britain July 10, 1930 660,964 Germany June 7, 1938 

